Nesting grounds shrinking in North America's largest pelican refuge

June 29, 2014 12:39 AM

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BISMARCK, N.D. -- Rising lake levels are swallowing American white pelicans' nesting grounds at a guano-rich island in North Dakota known as North America's largest refuge for the big-billed birds, U.S. federal wildlife officials said.

About 30,000 pelicans returned to 1,774-hectare Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge this year to find water had gobbled several acres of their main nesting island, creating increasingly cramped conditions for the giant birds, among the largest in North America. They weigh up to 9 kilograms, have a w...